ROSS STEWART is set to miss the first month-and-a-half of the Championship season, with Sunderland not expecting the striker to be available to return to action until late September.

Stewart has been sidelined since damaging his Achilles during January’s FA Cup fourth-round tie at Fulham, with the injury forcing him to miss the whole of the second half of last season.

Since the end of last term, the 27-year-old has entered the final year of his current contract at the Stadium of Light, with the failure to agree a new deal having led to growing speculation over his future.

Stoke City, who are managed by former Sunderland boss Alex Neil, are known to be long-term admirers of the Scotsman, while Southampton are also understood to have flagged up their interest in a conversation with Black Cats officials in the last seven days.

For now, though, Stewart remains sidelined, and having failed to feature in Sunderland’s recent tour of the United States, he will also miss the final two friendlies against Real Mallorca and Hartlepool United.

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It was always anticipated that he would be unavailable for the opening game of the Championship season against Ipswich Town, but Black Cats head coach Tony Mowbray has now revealed that his star striker’s absence will stretch well into the new campaign.

Stewart has told Mowbray he does not expect to be available until late September, meaning he could potentially miss up to eight Championship matches and the early rounds of the Carabao Cup before he is able to return to the fold.

“I had a conversation with him (Stewart) this morning, and he said late September,” said Mowbray, in an interview with BBC Newcastle in the wake of an open training session at the Stadium of Light. “Now, that’s him saying that, not the physios, but I’m sure he’s had discussions with the physios about it.

“Generally, when they’re not available to play for me, I don’t spend too much time trying to hurry them back. We focus on the players that we’ve got available. But I did see him this morning, and he suggested to me the end of September. That’s when I think he said that he hoped to be back on the grass training and fit to play. So, we’ll see.”